Isai Vellalar is a community found in

India India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...

Tamil Nadu Tamil Nadu (; , TN) is a States and union territories of India, state in southern India. It is the List of states and union territories of India by area, tenth largest Indian state by area and the List of states and union territories of India ...

. They are traditionally involved as performers of classical dance and music in

Hindu temples A Hindu temple, or ''mandir'' or ''koil'' in Indian languages, is a house, seat and body of divinity for Hindus. It is a structure designed to bring human beings and gods together through worship, sacrifice, and devotion.; Quote: "The Hind ...

and

courts A court is any person or institution, often as a government institution, with the authority to adjudicate legal disputes between parties and carry out the administration of justice in civil, criminal, and administrative matters in accordance ...

of the patrons. The term "Isai Vellalar" is a recent community identity, people of

minstrel A minstrel was an entertainer, initially in medieval Europe. It originally described any type of entertainer such as a musician, juggler, acrobat, singer or fool; later, from the sixteenth century, it came to mean a specialist entertainer who ...

occupation from various castes such as, Melakkarar, Nayanakkarar, Nattuvanar and

Vellalar Vellalar is a generic Tamil term used primarily to refer to various castes who traditionally pursued agriculture as a profession in the Indian states of Tamil Nadu, Kerala and northeastern parts of Sri Lanka. The Vellalar are members of several ...

come under this term.

Etymology

The term Isai Vellalar derives from the Tamil words ''Isai'' meaning "music" and ''

'' a generic term roughly meaning "cultivator", thus translates as "cultivators of music". This term was introduced after the legal abolition of the

Devadasi In India, a devadasi was a female artist who was dedicated to the worship and service of a deity or a temple for the rest of her life. The dedication took place in a ceremony that was somewhat similar to a marriage ceremony. In addition to taki ...

system as a result of the reform and anti-

nautch The nautch (; meaning "dance" or "dancing")Scott A. Kugle, 2016When Sun Meets Moon: Gender, Eros, and Ecstasy in Urdu Poetry p.230. was a popular court dance performed by girls (known as "nautch girls") in India. The culture of the performing ...

movement in 1947.

History

The Isai Vellalar communities were originally

nomads A nomad is a member of a community without fixed habitation who regularly moves to and from the same areas. Such groups include hunter-gatherers, pastoral nomads (owning livestock), tinkers and trader nomads. In the twentieth century, the popu ...

Bardic In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...

traditions are referred in early

Sangam literature The Sangam literature (Tamil: சங்க இலக்கியம், ''caṅka ilakkiyam'';) historically known as 'the poetry of the noble ones' (Tamil: சான்றோர் செய்யுள், ''Cāṉṟōr ceyyuḷ'') connotes ...

and well into the early

Pallava The Pallava dynasty existed from 275 CE to 897 CE, ruling a significant portion of the Deccan, also known as Tondaimandalam. The dynasty rose to prominence after the downfall of the Satavahana dynasty, with whom they had formerly served as fe ...

and Pandya periods. These were primarily ritualistic and defensive in nature. The artistic side of music and dance came to be strengthened during the

Chola The Chola dynasty was a Tamils, Tamil thalassocratic Tamil Dynasties, empire of southern India and one of the longest-ruling dynasties in the history of the world. The earliest datable references to the Chola are from inscriptions dated ...

and

Vijayanagara Vijayanagara () was the capital city of the historic Vijayanagara Empire. Located on the banks of the Tungabhadra River, it spread over a large area and included the modern era Group of Monuments at Hampi site in Vijayanagara district, Bellary ...

period. Early

inscriptions mentions Tevaratiyar as recipients of food offering and ritual performers of the temples, and was a term carrying honorific and high connotations. Inscriptional evidences indicates devadasis to have been independent professionals who enjoyed property (made large land donations to temples) and a respectable position in the society. The 11th-century inscription of

Rajaraja I Rajaraja I (947 CE – 1014 CE), born Arunmozhi Varman or Arulmozhi Varman and often described as Raja Raja the Great or Raja Raja Chozhan was a Chola emperor who reigned from 985 CE to 1014 CE. He was the most powerful Tamil king in South ...

states that the Tevaratiyar were invited to serve the

Brihadisvara Temple Brihadishvara Temple, called Rajarajesvaram () by its builder, and known locally as ''Thanjai Periya Kovil'' ("Thanjavur Big Temple") and ''Peruvudaiyar Kovil'', is a Shaivite Hindu temple built in a Chola architectural style located on the ...

and were given land near the temple. Under the patronage of the Nayaks of Tanjavur and Thanjavur Maratha kings,

Telugu Telugu may refer to: * Telugu language, a major Dravidian language of India *Telugu people, an ethno-linguistic group of India * Telugu script, used to write the Telugu language ** Telugu (Unicode block), a block of Telugu characters in Unicode S ...

musicians from

Andhra Pradesh Andhra Pradesh (, abbr. AP) is a state in the south-eastern coastal region of India. It is the seventh-largest state by area covering an area of and tenth-most populous state with 49,386,799 inhabitants. It is bordered by Telangana to the ...

and

Maharashtra Maharashtra (; , abbr. MH or Maha) is a states and union territories of India, state in the western India, western peninsular region of India occupying a substantial portion of the Deccan Plateau. Maharashtra is the List of states and union te ...

migrated to the Thanjavur region. The Melakkarars of Thanjavur are therefore divided in two distinct linguistic groups – the Tamil and Telugu Melakkarar. With the entry of

Colonial India Colonial India was the part of the Indian subcontinent that was occupied by European colonial powers during the Age of Discovery. European power was exerted both by conquest and trade, especially in spices. The search for the wealth and prosper ...

, great loss of temple patronage resulted the Tevaratiyar to perceive other ways of income which degraded their social status. The

system was legally abolished in 1947 after the campaigns of the social reformers

Moovalur Ramamirtham Moovalur Ramamirtham ( ta, மூவலூர் ராமாமிர்தம்) (1883–1962) was a Tamil social reformer, author, and political activist of the Dravidian Movement, who worked for the abolition of the ''Devadasi'' system in t ...

and

Muthulakshmi Reddi Muthulakshmi Reddy (also spelled Reddi in some British Indian sources; 30 July 1886 – 22 July 1968) was an Indian medical practitioner, social reformer and Padma Bhushan award recipient. Muthulakshmi Reddy was appointed to the Madras Legisl ...

. The entry of

Tamil Brahmins Tamil Brahmins are an ethnoreligious community of Tamil-speaking Hindu Brahmins, predominantly living in Tamil Nadu, though they number significantly in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala, Karnataka, in addition to other regions of India, as wel ...

in music and dance was seen as a threat to the traditional performers of these art forms. This led communities traditionally associated with music and dance to start forming a politicized non-Brahmin caste association which they coined as "Isai Vellalar Sangam" and thereby created a political unified identity.

Notable people

{{unsourced, section, date=May 2021

Historical personalities

Arunagirinathar Arunagirinaadhar (Aruna-giri-naadhar, ', ) was a Tamil Saiva saint-poet who lived during the 15th century in Tamil Nadu, India. In his treatise ''A History of Indian Literature'' (1974), Czech Indologist Kamil Zvelebil places Arunagirinathar's ...

Muthu Thandavar Muthu Thandavar (1525 – 1600 CE) (Tamil:முத்துத்தாண்டவர்)was composer of Carnatic music. He was an early architect of the present day Carnatic '' kriti'' (song) format, which consists of the ''pallavi'' (refra ...

Social activists

Politicians

M Karunanidhi Muthuvel Karunanidhi (3 June 1924 – 7 August 2018) was an Indian writer and politician who served as Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu for almost two decades over five terms between 1969 and 2011. He was popularly referred to as Kalaignar (Art ...

Murasoli Maran Murasoli Maran (17 August 1934 – 23 November 2003) was an Indian politician and an important leader of the Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam (DMK) party which was headed by his maternal uncle and mentor, M. Karunanidhi. A Member of Parliament for ...

* S. S. Thennarasu * MK Azhagiri *

MK Stalin Muthuvel Karunanidhi Stalin ( , born 1 March 1953), often referred to by his initials MKS, is an Indian Tamil politician serving as the 8th and current Chief Minister of Tamil Nadu. The son of the former Chief Minister M. Karunanidhi, Stalin ...

Kanimozhi Kanimozhi Karunanidhi (born 5 January 1968) is an Indian politician, poet and journalist. She is a Member of Parliament, representing Thoothukkudi constituency in the Lok Sabha (the lower house of India's Parliament). She was also a former ...

Dayanidhi Maran Dayanidhi Murasoli Maran (born 5 December 1966) is an Indian politician and one of the prominent members of Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam party. He was elected thrice as a Member of Parliament to Lok Sabha from Chennai Central constituency during ...

Business personalities

Kalanithi Maran Kalanithi Murasoli Maran is an Indian billionaire media mogul who is the chairman and founder of the Sun Group. He owns television channels, newspapers, weeklies, FM radio stations, DTH services, a cricket team (Sunrisers Hyderabad), and a mov ...

Prasanna Dhandayuthapani

Arts

Thanjavur Quartet ''Thanjavur Quartet'' were four brothers, Chinnayya, Ponnayya, Sivanandam and Vadivelu, who lived during the early 19th century and contributed to the development of Bharatanatyam and Carnatic music. They excelled in the art of Bharatanatyam.Th ...

T. N. Rajarathnam Pillai Thirumarugal Natesapillai Rajarathinam Pillai (27 August 1898 – 12 December 1956) or TNR was an Indian Carnatic musician, nadaswaram ''maestro'', vocalist and film actor. He was popularly known as "Nadaswara Chakravarthi" (literally, the Emperor ...

Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai Kumbakonam Rajamanickam Pillai ( ta, கும்பகோணம் ராஜமாணிக்கம் பிள்ளை), 5 August 1898 - 1970 was a Carnatic music violinist of Tamil Nadu, Southern India. Bringing up He was born in the small ...

Veenai Dhanammal Veenai Dhanammal ( ta, வீணை தனம்மாள்) (1867–1938) was a highly accomplished Carnatic musician, and the torchbearer of the school of Carnatic music that goes by her name. She was both a vocalist and a performer on the S ...

* T. Brinda * T. Muktha *

Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam Valayapatti A. R. Subramaniam is an Indian classical musician and percussionist, considered by many as one of the foremost prominent exponents of thavil also known as dolu, a traditional percussion instrument in Carnatic music, accompanying wind ...

* P. R. Thilagam * T. K. Swaminatha Pillai *

Namagiripettai Krishnan Namagiripettai K Krishnan (2 April 1924 – 30 April 2001) was a Carnatic musician who played the Nadaswaram. He was born in Namagiripettai village and lived in Sendamangalam, Namakkal district, Tamil Nadu, India. He gave many performances acro ...

* Thiruvarur Bakthavathsalam * S. Somasundaram *

Balasaraswathi Tanjore Balasaraswati, also known as Balasaraswati (13 May 1918 – 9 February 1984), was an Indian dancer, and her rendering of Bharatanatyam, a classical dance style originated in the South Indian state of Tamil Nadu, made this style of ...

* Thiruveezhimizhalai Padmashree Subramanya Pillai * Malaikkottai Panchapakesa pillai

Cinema

* Udhayanidhi *

Sivakarthikeyan Sivakarthikeyan (born 17 February 1985), also referred to as SK, is an Indian actor, singer, film producer, lyricist, and television presenter, who works predominantly in Tamil films. He has also won a Tamil Nadu State Film Award, four Edison A ...

References

Social groups of Tamil Nadu Indian castes